Geranium pour Monsieur Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle 2009

I am currently working through samples from the house of Frédéric Malle.

Since I like floral scents, I enjoy the fragrance creations with floral themes the most. First "Carnal Flower" (the floral madness), then "Une Fleur de Cassie" (a grand drama), followed by "En Passant" (spring in a bottle), and now "Geranium pour Monsieur".

For the latter, my nose had to switch gears. Here we really have an Eau de Cologne of a special kind.

As already correctly reported by previous reviewers, it starts with fresh mint. Very striking, clean, and for our Western-conditioned noses, quite medicinal. It is what it is; it really smells like expensive toothpaste. The white kind, not that trendy gel stuff.

Through the strong mint note, the geranium slowly fights its way through. A strange scent emerges. I would call it green, herbal, floral. The geranium stands on its own and doesn’t even want to disguise itself as a rose. It’s not unpleasant but definitely very unusual. The geranium sits above the mint. The mint base, however, remains present. Up to this point, the scent hovers above the skin. After about an hour, the scent retreats to my skin. There is no more sillage. But my skin smells irresistibly good. So that’s my opinion. I just didn’t have a female test candidate on hand. ;O) A soft, slightly creamy, and warm base remains on the skin that lasts for hours.

I think this creation provides a good freshness kick in the morning and then scents the body. So it’s a really old-fashioned idea of masculine colognes and aftershaves, but all wrapped in a very unconventional and modern guise.

I’ve been pondering whether this creation is worth the price. I’m not entirely sure. The scent is intense and incredibly interesting, but it remains an Eau de Cologne.